


the darkness that destroys

by quakeriders



Series: feysand tumblr prompt fills [8]
Category: A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Dark fic, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Torture, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-24
Updated: 2019-04-24
Packaged: 2020-01-31 06:23:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18585592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quakeriders/pseuds/quakeriders
Summary: It had been centuries since Rhys had this little control of his powers.Before Amren had taught him, it had been like this: wild and roiling and utterly unpredictable. One wrong breath or childish emotion and he had accidentally turned dozens of fae into mist or reduced them to empty shells.Or: Feyre is taken by Tamlin and Rhys goes to rescue her





	the darkness that destroys

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HighLadyOfTheSith](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HighLadyOfTheSith/gifts).



> Alt summary: Feyre is taken and Rhys goes bat-shit crazy while looking for her..  
> (sorry for the pun, I had to)

It had been centuries since Rhys had this little control of his powers.

Before Amren had taught him, it had been like this: wild and roiling and utterly unpredictable. One wrong breath or childish emotion and he had accidentally turned dozens of fae into mist or reduced them to empty shells.

And now, he couldn’t bring himself to care.

All he cared about was the faint scent of her blood that hung in the air.

He’d been searching for her for two weeks. Had been forced to feel her pain as she was torn apart and put together, again and again. Had been unable to find her, to get to her, to kill whoever had dared to touch her.

And then bond had gone silent. Four days after she had been taken from him, the bridge between their souls had gone utterly silent.

He had roared and raged and reduced a whole mountain rage to nothing but dust on the wind.

But she hadn’t been killed.

They made sure to let him know that his mate was still alive. Still breathing. Still suffering.

And it had turned him into the raging beast he now was. Consumed by his wild dark power.

Being the better man had gotten his this. After fifty years of hell, the one thing he had vowed to protect, had been taken from him.

And they relished in hurting her. Because she was his.

The wards around the manor had never been strong enough to hold him back. Rhys didn’t even need to think about it before they shattered and he sent out a wave of power that plunged Tamlin’s estate into complete darkness.

He could see them, see their panic when they realised what that terrible, oppressive darkness meant.

That it meant, he had come for his mate and that their lives were now over.

But he wouldn’t do it fast. Wouldn’t give them the pleasure and honour of a quick, painless death.

They would suffer; all of them. Every single person that still lived and breathed in this manor would suffer and beg for death.

The screams began before he had even reached the front doors.

Their minds were soft and weak as he gripped them, ripped into them.

Piece by piece, he tore them apart.

One by one, he found their greatest fears and made them a reality until they were all on their knees and wailing.

It didn’t ease his hunger for more.

Rhys found him in his study, on his knees where he had always belonged.

His golden hair was cut short and from where his hands were wrapped around his head, Rhys could see the bruised knuckles.

Tamlin wouldn’t die like the rest of his people.

No, for him Rhys would make an exception.

A tendril of power pushed the high lord of spring onto his back and then Rhys was kneeling on his chest, his talons wrapping around his neck.

Wide, green eyes found his and Rhys snarled as he choked him.

He wanted to watch Tamlin claw at him, fight him, fight for his life, for the tiniest sip of air. Wanted to watch as the live slowly drained from him because he couldn’t breathe.

The memory of Feyre locked in this house, desperate for air, was all he could see as Tamlin’s claws ripped at his hands, his arms, his chest.

Tendrils of darkness wrapped around them, crushing bones and ripping into his flesh.

Just as his eyelids began to flutter, Rhys stopped. His fingers didn’t leave his throat, but he eased his grip just enough for Tamlin to splutter and take heaving breaths.

"Your court suffered enough." Rhys said and the wails of agony stopped as all at once every member of Tamlin’s rotten court died. "But you— I will take my time with you."

Tamlin sneered at him. And then, he laughed.

It felt as though Tamlin was dragging those claws over his bones. "Good. Maybe she’ll be dead by the time you’re done with me."

The world stopped.

Everything stopped.

Feyre.

"Where is she?" But even as he asked, he speared into Tamlin’s mind. Images flashed before his eyes.

Feyre screaming, wild and defiant, spitting in his face.

Then, another image followed and the sight of her almost made him loose his own mind. She was covered in blood and bruises. Still, her features where twisted with rage and she was threatening to rip him apart.

The next image was his undoing. Feyre, chained and kneeling. Her body shaking and those blue-grey eyes filled with nothing but agony.

Tamlin’s spine snapped with a flick of his talons.

And then Rhys was moving. Moving past the dead bodies around him, moving down the stairs and into the gloomy kitchen that always seemed to smell of roses.

He found her in the cellar.

The door between them disappeared in a mist of darkness.

She didn’t stir as he moved towards her. He could hear her ragged breaths, knew that she was awake, but she didn’t look up.

When he crouched down before her, his hands shaking, she curved away from him.

A small sob escaped her throat. "No."

The word broke his heart. She was wearing nothing but a bloodstained shirt. It smelled of Tamlin and even though he was dead, Rhys still wanted to kill him. Wanted to bring him back to life and kill him again. And again.

"Feyre." His voice was a broken plea. His heart breaking, shattering into so many pieces that surely it could never be fixed again.

Another small sob broke from her throat. "No, not this. Not him."

He understood. "It’s me, Feyre. It’s not a trick. I’m really here."

But she shook her head, her whole body shuddering and the chains that bound her to the wall rattled.

Chains that glowed faintly, pulling a snarl from him.

Rhys reached for them. He ripped them off their hinges and then, forcing himself to be more gentle, he undid them at her wrists.

He could feel the bond between them come alive again.

And if he hadn’t already been kneeling, he would have fallen.

Every inch of her skin was screaming in pain. He could feel the bones that had been broken and set wrong. Could feel the terror at the sight and smell of him before her.

Her walls were down. And the mind had turned into nothing but a feral, cornered beast.

Feyre. He spoke into her mind and tugged on the bond between them, gently, lovingly.

And finally, her eyes opened.

"Rhys." She breathed, her lips barely moving and he wasn’t sure if she had spoken his name or said it down the bond.

But she was looking at him. And that dark, unstoppable rage and power in him stilled. Rushed from him like an exhaled breath.

And with her shaking hands, she was reaching for him. "Rhys." She said again and then tears slid down her cheeks. "You’re alive."

"Of course." He said, wrapping his arms around her, letting her fall into his chest and grip him tightly. "So, are you."

She sobbed, great heaving sobs that shook her body and made all her injuries scream at the movement.

"Shh, my love." Rhys breathed, his lips brushing her matted hair. "I’ve found you."

She kept mumbling, sobbing, telling him that she thought he was dead, that they had taken him from her.

He held her to his chest, with his hands barely touching her as he worked to pull the pain from her and into his own body. He whispered back to her, tears of his own running down his face, as he said over and over again, _I found you_.

"Take me home." Feyre said finally, looking up at him.

Rhys nodded and a sweeter, softer shade of darkness wrapped around them as he winnowed them home.

**Author's Note:**

> ME @ MYSELF: SWEETER SOFTER SHADE OF DARKNESS... oh no you didn't. Sorry, I just really love that description, it literally always breaks my heart when rereading the book.
> 
> as always, feedback is v much appreciated.  
> lets play on tumblr: @quakeriders


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